Car seats in many forms are available today and are, indeed, required by most states as a matter of law for use with children who are of a size such that a standard auto belt arrangement does not afford proper protection.
One such car seat is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,376,551, issued Mar. 15, 1983, and assigned to the present assignee. This car seat uses a restraining system which includes a harness cooperating with a padded shield, with the shield being biased in a particular manner so as to prevent misuse of the car seat. This type of seat meets all government standards as to safety and is appropriate for children from toddler up to a particular size, at which time the child becomes too large to fit the seat, but is still too small to properly use the restraining systems of standard automobiles--that is, the seat and/or harness shoulder straps in these systems.
In order to provide a means for protecting the older child properly, booster seats are available. One such booster seat is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,568,122, issued Feb. 4, 1986, and is assigned to the assignee of the present application. This booster seat includes a base and seat with a split shield openable for access, with the shield being closed when the child is in place. The shields have channel which accepts the auto belt of the standard car so as to retain the booster seat in position on the seat of the automobile.
The above systems necessitate the purchase of two separate units as the child is growing. The car seat, itself, as described above, becomes obsolete after the child reaches a certain age. The child is unable to use the harness system of the automobile and, therefore, it is necessary to purchase a booster seat for such a child. Obviously, this presents an additional expense in view of the necessity of the two separate purchases.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a car seat which is useable over the entire term that a child needs such a seat. By providing a car seat which has a detachable booster seat which is an integral part of the car seat when it is attached, the life and use of the car seat extends over the entire period of time during which the child requires such a seat.